Past the Brass and Polish with Roman Fischer | Ship's Log 7

"The grind is good to an extent, but you also have to reset, realign, and reconnect with yourself and your purpose." – Roman Fischer

Episode Summary:
In this episode of Project Candor, host Jeanne Andersen sits down with Roman Fischer—actor, model, fitness coach, author, and entrepreneur—for a deeply honest conversation about discipline, grief, and the unseen work behind success. Roman walks listeners through what a real day in his life looks like, from gratitude and time-blocking to workouts, auditions, and client coaching—without the fake 5 a.m. hustle hype.

Roman opens up about how the loss of his brother and grandfather became a turning point rather than a breaking point, fueling his commitment to fitness, health, and helping others transform both physically and mentally. He shares the realities behind glamorous-looking acting and modeling gigs, the persistence required to face rejection, and why consistency matters more than motivation.

The episode wraps with a fun round of Two Truths and a Lie, uncovering stories from men’s physique competitions, celebrity encounters, and international travel—proving that even the most polished journeys are built on grit, resilience, and staying humble while staying hungry.

Guest’s Bio:
Roman Fischer is an actor, model, author, fitness coach, and entrepreneur whose brother and grandfather’s passing inspired his fitness journey, motivating him to pursue a healthier life and help transform others while excelling in entertainment. He is the author of Rules to Rule Successfully and works with clients worldwide through personalized coaching focused on physical, mental, and emotional growth.

Links:
Website: romanfischerofficial.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romanfischerofficial
Youtube: youtube.com/@romanfischerofficial
TikTok:    tiktok.com/@romanfischerofficial

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Transcript

Jeanne: Welcome to Project Candor, where ordinary people share the most unexpected stories. I'm your host, Jeanne Andersen, and around here, we're not chasing picture-perfect moments. We're opening the door to the real stuff, the stories people carry quietly, the twist life sneaks in, and all the parts you'd never know unless someone trusted you enough to tell you. Today's guest is someone who pours passion, discipline, and a whole lot of drive into everything he does. Roman Fischer is an actor, model, author, fitness coach, and entrepreneur. His journey into fitness began after the loss of his brother and grandfather, a moment that shifted everything and led him towards health, purpose, and helping others find their strength. Roman, I'm so glad you joined us today. How are you? 

Roman: Yes, thank you for having me. ⁓ I'm doing good. How are you? 

Jeanne: I'm good. I'm good. So, you know, a purpose of this call is to do two truths and a lie, but I'd like to ask you some questions first. So let's jump in. You ready? Okay. So Roman, with everything you're juggling, acting and modeling, writing, fitness, coaching, business, people probably assume you live at full throttle 24 seven. So what does a real day in the life of Roman Fischer look like? 

Roman: Okay, let's do it. Yeah, that's great. ⁓ I usually always start any and every day. throughout the week, just waking up early. Now I'm not gonna say that I wake up at four or five in the morning like some people say or some people think you have to do when you're pursuing entrepreneurship in any field or in the entertainment industry. ⁓ Now you can do that, that's just not something I do. So I'll start with that. ⁓ So don't get it twisted, I'm not a 5 a.m. type person, ⁓ never will be. ⁓ I more so wake up. 

Jeanne: Hahaha ⁓ 

Roman: The earliest would be like six, really usually seven o'clock. ⁓ I usually wake up in the morning. ⁓ I like to then ⁓ just do my typical morning routine before I really do any like work related activities of any sort. So I love to just ⁓ meditate on what ⁓ I am thankful for. Basically practicing gratitude at its core. ⁓ Even if it's not writing anything out that I'm grateful for, just thinking about it at least and really saying it out loud from time to time. that does actually help prep me and prime me for my day ⁓ that's ahead. ⁓ And then upon doing that, ⁓ I love to already have my day pre-planned, at least ⁓ as much as you can possibly do, because of course things don't always 100 % go to plan, whether we like it or not. So knowing that, ⁓ I do ⁓ at least prep my day as much as I can, humanly possibly can, ⁓ the day before, ⁓ usually the evening or 

Jeanne: You're kidding. 

Roman: night before, shortly before winding down and relaxing for ⁓ the rest of my day. ⁓ And that actually gives me a good solid foundation and focus for what's to come ⁓ for my day that I'm actually just entered into for that morning. ⁓ And then upon doing that, I always start from there after with a morning workout. And that further primes me for my day. That just really gets me in that physical and mental head space where I have to be and really need to be ⁓ to really thrive and not just survive throughout my day. ⁓ So that does help a lot, whether it's even just working out at home or going to the gym. I typically go to the gym. ⁓ I do 45 minutes to an hour workout, mainly weights, maybe some cardio. And that really does get me in that solid head space that I have to be in. And it really builds those endorphins up ⁓ and gives me that energy that I need and that's required to get me through the rest of my day from there. ⁓ on it ⁓ just kind of depends. mean, some things will just randomly come into my day that I got to do. And that's part of the, you know, ⁓ thing of what I was saying that things don't always go to plan though they can. ⁓ When they don't always, I'll just ⁓ readjust some of my time blocking that I have for my day to you. ⁓ So when my day is already planned out, ⁓ it's all in time blocks. So I try to do each thing dedicated at certain times and then move to the next thing in order of priority. ⁓ So let's just say sometimes I have auditions that come in ⁓ unexpectedly. If it's a tight turnaround, I prioritize that ⁓ usually before anything else, ⁓ unless it's like something dire or some emergency that I have with like family. If it's nothing like too, too critical though, I always prioritize ⁓ any acting or video auditions ⁓ that might have really close tight deadlines. like maybe like the next few hours or the next day. ⁓ But if I don't have any of that that comes in and it's just like all goes to plan, ⁓ I usually, if I have auditions already set, I do those. ⁓ And then I work on just really, you know, social media engagement and ⁓ content creation for my fitness coaching and really just for my overall, ⁓ you know, brand and ⁓ in my public presence ⁓ on social media with TikTok, Instagram, like⁓ all the things, there's so many social media channels now it's crazy. ⁓ Like, ⁓ yeah. ⁓ 

Jeanne: Yes, saw that on your, ⁓ the people on that are listening and watching, they'll see a link of all your stuff. I was wondering myself, how do you maintain that? You've got a list of social media accounts going and they're all very active. It's not like you, you miss any of them. 

Roman: Right? Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ And what a one tip on that too, just for anyone listening, that's something that I actually do throughout my day too. ⁓ To make that actually a lot easier and just overall more manageable ⁓ for my social media is ⁓ not just creating the post in advance ideally and sometimes scheduling them to post at certain times, ⁓ but in addition to that, cross posting. So not just having a post on like Instagram, but Facebook and Instagram at the same time. So you can basically do a two in one post for example. ⁓ So that is a good kind of like life hack or social media hack more specifically. 

Jeanne: Good tip. 

Roman: ⁓ that yes, that can definitely make it a lot easier and not as time consuming ⁓ for anybody and whatever you're doing in life. ⁓ But that's helped me a lot. ⁓ And so yeah, when I'm not doing that or ⁓ following my time blocking schedule, ⁓ then I usually ⁓ just go through auditions, ⁓ any ⁓ client outreach or social media outreach or any client calls or accountability sessions with any of my fitness clients. ⁓ I'm not doing any of those things there, ⁓ then usually I'm just going out for a hike, going out for a walk towards the end of the day. ⁓ like basically to reset my mind and just like center myself more and ⁓ just ⁓ kind of ⁓ reset my mind and reconnect myself to not to sound too overly, you know, what do you call it, ⁓ spiritual per se, but like ⁓ reconnect myself with nature. ⁓ ⁓ and just really ground myself and not get lost in just the grind all the time. Because the grind is good to an extent, but you also do got to like re-center and re- ⁓ reset yourself and realign yourself ⁓ with, ⁓ you know, you and your purpose, ⁓ but also just with nature ⁓ at its core. Because that's going to help you just stay the course a lot easier for sure. ⁓ 

Jeanne: wow. So ⁓ there's so many questions in that. ⁓ You do eat, right? ⁓ I didn't hear you say anything about that. ⁓ And ⁓ you do eventually in that day have a meal. ⁓ All of that needs energy. ⁓ 

Roman: Yeah. About what specifically? ⁓ ⁓ yeah, yeah, So make no mistake about it. I ⁓ don't fast all day every day. I'm not superhuman. ⁓ No, but I do ⁓ also, yeah, with especially in regards to like actually my nutrition, ⁓ I do meal prep every once in a while. 

Jeanne: Hahaha! ⁓ 

Roman: I typically ⁓ just do it on one day and then have it for mainly the rest of the week. So I'll usually meal prep on a Sunday when it's my least active ⁓ day. Not much ⁓ is really going on except for some laundry, see ⁓ family or go for a ⁓ movie or go for a hike. But other than that, Sundays are basically ⁓ my off day. that's, ⁓ anything, the day that I meal prep. ⁓ Now, not every week do I 

Jeanne: you 

Roman: meal prep, but if I do decide to, ⁓ Sunday's a great day for that. ⁓ That and some laundry and that's it. ⁓ And I usually prep my week of meals on that Sunday for ⁓ the rest of the week ⁓ with like breakfast, lunch and dinner. Snacks, I don't really prep. I just kind of have ⁓ as part of my macros and overall calories that I need for my goals and fitness. ⁓ Now, if I'm not meal prepping, I usually do, ⁓ I don't like, there's 

Jeanne: Yeah. 

Roman: different ways you can go about it. ⁓ You could have five meals a day, five small meals a day. That's not a bad thing to do. I mean, it's a great way to keep your digestion ⁓ at its peak ⁓ and really digest each and every thing of food, optimally ⁓ and ⁓ efficiently. ⁓ Now, you can also have ⁓ three meals a day, three big meals a day and really be just as fine and still hit your fitness goals. ⁓ You just got to make sure you're not having them too close together. ⁓ And then also have filler snacks in between, especially if you're trying to get more calories to like gain muscle, maybe gain strength, ⁓ depending on your goals, of course. But what I usually do is I just do the good old three meals a day and I just have some snacks in between, especially now with me doing a lean bulk. ⁓ And I actually did it. I just got on my bulking ⁓ phase just in time for Thanksgiving. ⁓ 

Jeanne: ⁓ okay. I knew someone one time that was trying to bulk up and he was pretty skinny, but he was a Swedish guy and he used to put tuna fish in his protein shake. Have you ever heard of that? 

Roman: I've heard of people having tuna fish but not in their protein ⁓ shake though. ⁓ Yeah, that's... dang, yeah. 

Jeanne: It stunk. It's so bad. It was an exchange student that lived with us. ⁓ And that's what he would ask ⁓ for me to get him at the grocery stores, cans of tuna. And then he would put it in a protein shake. ⁓ Anyway, just a side note on ⁓ experience with that. But ⁓ you do sleep as well, I hope. What time is your bedtime? ⁓ 

Roman: Ooh man, yeah, that's crazy. ⁓ Yes, yet, ⁓ and when I'm not? you know, working and doing ⁓ all my stuff throughout my daily routine and everything on my ⁓ to-do list for the day. ⁓ I usually like to wind down. It varies a little bit, but I for the most part like to and prefer to keep a consistent, ⁓ you know, schedule because that's best for your sleep anyway, knowing all too well, having been a huge insomniac throughout the years. ⁓ But one of the best ways I found for ⁓ helping my sleep and it's actually helped a lot of people and studies and research has shown 

Jeanne: Mm-hmm. ⁓ 

Roman: that keeping that consistent schedule is great. It's like the best thing you can do. So what I usually do is I practice it. I usually go to bed or wind down at least around 9 p.m. and I try to fall asleep around 10, 10.30. And then I usually wake up about, yeah, 7 a.m., 7 a.m. usually. So I try to at least get seven, if not eight hours of sleep, even up to nine if possible. 

Jeanne: Okay. Okay. Nice. So next question I have for you. ⁓ You grew up in Arkansas and I always think where you come from leaves fingerprints on who we become. So how did Arkansas shape the way you see the world and does any part of that upbringing still show up in your work today? 

Roman: Yeah. ⁓ so it's funny because, ⁓ you know, of course ⁓ being, I was born, of course, obviously like in Ohio, but yeah, I grew up most of my life here in the state of Arkansas. ⁓ I will say with that it's funny because my family is at its core very Midwestern despite ⁓ my immediate family growing up. Well, my sister, me and my brother grew up here mainly. My parents grew up mainly in Wisconsin. ⁓ And then they kind of just moved all over a lot of the Midwest and whatnot. ⁓ But for me specifically, it doesn't really today, ⁓ back then and even up to now presently, doesn't really, and it hasn't really left much. ⁓ an imprint on what I do. ⁓ Maybe the only thing that the state of Arkansas has really ⁓ done for me as far as like ⁓ blending into my work or like field of practice, if you will, is ⁓ the outdoor aspect that Arkansas does very much give ⁓ is like what the hiking and ⁓ some sightseeing, but really the hiking aspect with the physical activity that that does bring for people. ⁓ So I would say if anything, it would probably just be like 

Jeanne: Mm. 

Roman: ⁓ the importance of the outdoors and nature in hiking I would say yeah ⁓ Which is always great. Yeah ⁓ 

Jeanne: that's excellent. Yeah. I, yeah, I think of Arkansas and farms and cows and you know, that's about all I know about it ⁓ except for driving through it when I was going across the country. ⁓ but yeah, the island, I guess that's great to have the outdoors, ⁓ grounds you. ⁓ hear a lot about grounding. You mentioned grounding a lot too. So that's something that I guess people can explore with you and they reach out to you. I have another question though. 

Roman: Yup. ⁓ Yeah. yeah. Yeah. 

Jeanne: This is on the more personal side. ⁓ Your brother and your grandfather's passing changed your life in huge ways. So how did that moment become a spark for your fitness journey instead of a breaking point? 

Roman: Yeah, for sure. Well, so just to start, ⁓ before my grandpa's passing, even my ⁓ younger brother actually being the middle child actually in the family, ⁓ my younger brother, actually ⁓ got into, and this was when I was 15. Yeah, ⁓ 15. So 12 years ago, which is crazy to believe that time flies, but 12 years ago, about to this day, yeah, ⁓ my brother, younger brother got into fitness and started working out because he, ⁓ 

Jeanne: Mm. 

Roman: personally got inspired by the Rocky movies and all the workout scenes and that actually led him funny enough to develop a passion and really huge interest in fitness and working out. ⁓ So ⁓ when that happened, he started, you know, doing a lot of weightlifting, some calisthenics pushups, ⁓ you know, the whole nine yards really. And then I started seeing that I'm like, ⁓ hmm, ⁓ cause I wasn't really active other than maybe a little bit of soccer, which that's being active, but it's not like 

Jeanne: ⁓ 

Roman: ⁓ strength training or getting stronger if you will. ⁓ So ⁓ seeing that really actually inspired me a lot and I'm like well if my younger brother can do it surely I can too. So ⁓ that actually pushed me ⁓ into wanting to ⁓ not only develop the same interests but really ⁓ develop you know ⁓ just a stronger overall physique and really just better myself in that ⁓ specific way. ⁓ But also too I really ⁓ in that time was trying 

Jeanne: Hahaha. 

Roman: to you know get that six pack everybody wants so that that actually helped further my you know goals in doing that so that that really did inspire me and instead of being you know just not interested in it or being turned off, I actually realized I like, I love fitness. just love the engagement that it brings. I love just the overall engagement it brings and the overall benefits. And then when I started doing it, because I wasn't too sure about it at first, as much as I was inspired by my brother, I wasn't 100 % sold on it still until I started doing it myself. And then I realized I just felt better. Like, yes, I wasn't seeing the results right away, ⁓ but ⁓ I started feeling better. ⁓ Not necessarily overnight, ⁓ but pretty quickly ⁓ after. I mean, that is the one thing about working out. I've realized that for me and anybody else that ⁓ you don't get the physical results right away, ⁓ but you do get the endorphins and the inner, you know, changes ⁓ almost right away. ⁓ So that that was pretty neat. And that helped me stick with it rather 

Jeanne: Mm-hmm.

Roman: than wanting to just, ⁓ you know, try it and then quit it. So that's what helped me with that. ⁓ 

Jeanne: Well, I got, I have to, I have to say before you go on, I get inspired by the Rocky movies too. I can remember in college at Wake Forest University, ⁓ my ⁓ bulletin board or my wall had a Rocky poster, the one with his hands up over his head, ⁓ you know, holding onto the bar going, Adrian, I don't know. We were all inspired by that on my hall. ⁓ Yeah, that's pretty funny. Yeah, but go ahead and. ⁓ 

Roman: Yes. ⁓ nice. ⁓ That's awesome. Yeah. 

Jeanne: Do you want to go to the next question or do you have more on that breaking point? 

Roman: Yeah, I was gonna add, just in addition to my brother then, ⁓ my grandpa, so ⁓ specifically with that. ⁓ On my mom's side, my grandpa, I was super close to you. I mean, I was close to both of them on my dad's and my mom's side, but my specifically with my, ⁓ you know, grandpa on my mom's side, I was very, very close to you. ⁓ And we always spent a lot of time together. You know, growing up, we always saw each other for the holidays around now, Thanksgiving, Christmas, ⁓ even New Year's at some points. ⁓ So we definitely did have a strong connection together. ⁓ And yeah, it was, it was wild, but you know, ⁓ it really does affect Almost anybody if not everyone ⁓ when you have a loved one, especially just pass away You know, even if you expect it or don't expect it. It's just a very ⁓ it's still very sudden in any situation It's always ⁓ a very sudden thing ⁓ Even when you really expect it, it's a sudden thing. ⁓ So that really hit me strong like emotionally obviously emotionally but also mentally to hearing it from my sister or not my sister my my mom hearing it from her brother ⁓ and then that actually filtered down to her to me and then I found that out and I was like ⁓ I was just you know taken aback ⁓ in every way you can imagine ⁓ but ⁓ while that you know the news definitely ⁓ did ⁓ really really ⁓ you hinder my emotional state for probably several weeks, maybe even a month or two. It did actually, you know, it hurt me, but it actually that pain that I felt emotional and mental pain, I actually ultimately use that for a feel to feel just my overall journey in fitness. Cause at that point I was already working out though it was harder to work out given all what happened that actually that pain I was able to use for a feel to 

Jeanne: Mm. 

Roman: continue working out, but also better my ⁓ healthy ⁓ eating habits and actually not ⁓ really have all the cravings I was having before. ⁓ That actually helped me ⁓ just shape myself into just being ⁓ more healthy in my nutrition alongside my ⁓ fitness with ⁓ exercising. ⁓ helped my nutrition ⁓ tenfold ⁓ and that it just really gave me that push. You know, like because I know my grandpa ⁓ He had some moments in his life growing up where he was pretty healthy for the most part. I mean, he was active, he was in the military, all those things were great. ⁓ you know... ⁓ He was, I believe it was in the army, yes. ⁓ Yeah. ⁓ 

Jeanne: Mm-hmm. what branch of the military? Okay, that's wonderful. That's wonderful. I love veterans. I'm a veteran ⁓ 

Roman: awesome. That's really cool. ⁓ But, ⁓ yeah, he actually had that background. was so he was pretty active and pretty healthy for, would say, most of his life until later on. You know, ⁓ people slow down, things happen, so it can be understandable for sure. ⁓ But. he just got into the phase of his life where he was just more relaxed. I mean, of course, being retired, that can do that to a lot of people, but he would eat lot of sugar, just do a lot of things that worked the healthiest for him, whether it was lack of physical activity later on, but also consuming just a lot of sweets, a lot of sugars, processed sugars, and that really definitely affected him. in a bad way, ⁓ sadly. And that's actually what ⁓ led to, or one of the things that led to, is cancer. ⁓ And just being out in the sun a lot too as he got older. ⁓ So as I realized those specific things, I was like, you know, that's not something, that's not something I wanted for him, of course, but that's not something I want for myself or other people, whether they're family or not, ⁓ especially people I know, but really anybody. ⁓ And so that inspired me to not only be healthier than for myself, 

Jeanne: Mm-hmm. 

Roman: ⁓ but ultimately for other people. ⁓ And just that, you know, epiphany, if you will, or just that inner awakening that, ⁓ man, I'm going to use this ⁓ as bad as it's, you know, as bad as it is, I'm going to use it for ⁓ my own good and for other people's own good. And really ultimately to make my grandpa proud, just to make my grandpa proud as if he was still here ⁓ and just make everything just better and healthier one body at a time. and that actually helped ⁓ me cross into that threshold more ⁓ of being just a healthier person ⁓ just overall and then helping other people ultimately ⁓ and eventually doing the same thing. ⁓ 

Jeanne: Yeah. Yeah, that's a phenomenal turn on something that's devastating. ⁓ I lost my parents and grandparents and everybody in my family by the time I was 24. So ⁓ I have lived a lot of years without people, but I have a Christian faith that says I'm going to see them again. ⁓ I'm pretty happy about that. So I look forward, but yeah, you have to like persevere after a big devastation like that. You can't stop your life. And ⁓ so I've kept going and ⁓ 

Roman: Yeah. wow. Yes. ⁓ no. ⁓ Yeah. 

Jeanne: Yeah, I admire you for turning that into something ⁓ positive in your life and other people's lives. So thank you. That's good. ⁓ another question I want to ask you. So from ⁓ outside, ⁓ your world just looks pretty glamorous. ⁓ But behind the scenes, ⁓ I'm guessing there were some, like, let's call it character building moments outside of what you've already ⁓ 

Roman: Yes, ⁓ thank you. 

Jeanne: you know, told us about with your ⁓ brother and grandfather. Is there a moment in your journey that looked polished on the outside, but behind the scenes was anything but glamorous?

Roman: Yeah, that's a really great question. ⁓ yeah, would definitely have to say that, ⁓ you know, ⁓ and it's nothing, you know, super, super, ⁓ you know, negative or super bad in any way, ⁓ but I would say that ⁓ really it's one of those things, you know, and it's for a lot of people too that are in any type of field, especially within the entertainment industry ⁓ where ⁓ And this is really outside of that, you know, just in anything that ⁓ does eventually make someone super successful in a field, ⁓ people see the end result or the ⁓ finish line of that person, so to speak, but they don't really see all the, you know, work and all the running, so to speak, that, ⁓ you know, goes into that process of getting to the finish line. ⁓ 

Jeanne: Right. 

Roman: So ⁓ for me specifically, ⁓ what really would be probably the best example I can think of right now ⁓ is ⁓ really, ⁓ I don't wanna use a bodybuilding show ⁓ idea as a concept, ⁓ because everyone knows that usually there's a lot of work to do. I would say more so within my acting journey and modeling journey, that's probably the best one to go with. ⁓ So ⁓ when I was doing, ⁓ or when I 

Jeanne: Okay. 

Roman: got certain gigs, booked for certain gigs, pretty big gigs, ⁓ whether it be a commercial or even just like a modeling photo shoot in its own self, like a lifestyle shoot, ⁓ people would see the end result of that, which was really awesome. And ⁓ I mean, it's great. Yes, it's a very ⁓ rewarding thing for people that get to that point, me specifically in that moment, ⁓ but ⁓ they didn't see all the auditions that I had to do. there is, I think, it Samuel L. ⁓ Jackson or someone else? No, no, no, no, it's Robert Downey Jr. He said, and I don't want to like quote it, I'm gonna just paraphrase ⁓ it, I kind of just give it my own quote, ⁓ but basically he said I auditioned, you know, several thousands maybe. ⁓ Yeah, several thousands of times and got rejected every single time. But then I did another one and then that's the one I booked. ⁓ So yeah, it was something along the lines of that. Now that's not his exact quote, but it's pretty close to what he was saying. Basically, you can, for lack of a better word, ⁓ fail so many times, though you're not really failing. ⁓ You're just one step closer to your goal, to your overall objective that you're trying to achieve. But eventually, if you push 

Jeanne: ⁓ wonderful. 

Roman: through just enough, you'll eventually get there. ⁓ And it sounds a little cliche for some people, but it's very true. It's kind of like that guy that is trying to mine for diamonds. You know, he mined the whole entire tunnel and then he's right there, but he didn't realize he's right there because it doesn't seem like it perceptively. And then if he would have just went a little bit more, a little bit further, he would have reached ⁓ the diamonds in the mine. So some people quit too early. ⁓ Some people almost quit, don't and then they realize man I'm glad I didn't. So, but ⁓ basically to tie it back into my whole ⁓ situation and story from back then, ⁓ I booked some really great gigs, whether it was acting or modeling or both. And then ⁓ people saw that and it was great. It's glamorous for what you see, but they don't realize and they didn't see all the hard work and the backend stuff that went into even getting to that point to begin with, with all the auditions, memorizations of the auditions and just 

Jeanne: Yeah. Right. 

Roman: ⁓ just navigating each audition in a timely ⁓ fashion. And then also just all the work that goes into that from point A to point B, ⁓ making sure that you are punctual, making sure that you're just on point and that you're at your best and all the skill building and character building that goes into just any one audition really. So it's like all that backend stuff and it's a fun process as long as you enjoy it. ⁓ 

Jeanne: Yeah. 

Roman: people don't realize all the work that goes into that to even land any ⁓ one commercial. And there's a lot of auditions, even the most professional actors, ⁓ even for me, like I'll go through a lot of auditions, you don't always book a lot of them, but then eventually you do book something. But it's all about being persistent and tenacious by the end of the day. 

Jeanne: Well, I know I just finished binging on ⁓ The Last Kingdom, which I ⁓ think you should have gone out for that one. It looked like a perfect Viking, ⁓ slashing his sword. ⁓ I'm still missing Uhtred Ragnarsson. ⁓ But anyway, it's a good show. You should watch it. You would be a great Viking. ⁓ Yeah. ⁓ 

Roman: I haven't seen that. ⁓ Nice. I should, yeah, I should check it out. 

Jeanne: You helped a lot of people transform physically, mentally, and emotionally. So what's the most surprising or touching reaction someone has had after working with you? 

Roman: Yeah, for sure. ⁓ The most I would have to say for me, ⁓ because there's been so many of them, it's crazy. ⁓ If I really had to bounce back to it, let me think here. So yeah, I would say one of my great clients, ⁓ Pamela, she actually lost a lot of weight. ⁓ and you know, ⁓ mainly fat weight to you. So that's what was really great. I mean, of course there's water weight stuff that goes into that, but she lost 20 pounds in ⁓ literally 20 pounds in two months. ⁓ And yeah, it was pretty, pretty wild. ⁓ Yeah. And about two months, she lost 20 pounds. I was crazy. I was like, Whoa, but it's not just the, you know, the scale because the scale only is so much seeing the actual 

Jeanne: haha 

Roman: transformation physically. ⁓ That's everything. Like the before and after ⁓ that she had, that she provided me, ⁓ that she saw not just for herself but that I got to see for her. ⁓ And knowing that she put ⁓ all that work in but I was that coach that helped her do that. So knowing I was that mentor and that overall guide for her ⁓ really inspired me ⁓ to want to just keep doing better for her and other people along the way. Whether I had them as clients or not ⁓ and really just it inspired me. It's funny it actually further inspired me in my fitness journey just for me ⁓ because I was like man I'm helping all these people and I can just keep helping myself in the process as I help other people and it's just really it's a neat thing because it kind of bounces back you know you kind of bounce off each other sometimes to you as the coach ⁓ between the coach and the client type relationship. ⁓ 

Jeanne: Yeah, that's great. 

Roman: and knowing that, seeing that, and then also ⁓ even beyond the physical looks, which is very important, ⁓ especially if you're trying to lose weight, gain muscle. In this case, she was really just trying to tone up, ⁓ lose weight, ⁓ but not just the physical appearance and transformation, which was very profound, of course, ⁓ but hearing ⁓ her words and just how much more positive she was and felt and just her overall, as a person, overall energy, just shifted dramatically in the best way you could probably think of. ⁓ mean, she went from being more weighed down, more depressed and ⁓ coming from a family that had a lot of health issues, a lot of ⁓ health problems and they ⁓ struggled with losing weight, keeping it off even if they did lose it ⁓ and just really being healthier and happier as a person. ⁓ And that background definitely weighed on her and stuck with her for some time. But when she worked with me throughout those, you know, first few months, like the first two three months, she was a whole totally different new person. I was like this is this is crazy. This is awesome and just seeing the shift in her emotional state ⁓ and her overall just aura energy on her face like you could just see she was ⁓ from like being more you know way down and depressed to literally like glowing with ⁓ positivity and happiness and literally smiling and just a hundred percent, you know, where she would, ⁓ where she was wanting to be just to begin with. And like seeing that transformation there was almost more, ⁓ propelling than seeing her physical transformation. Like that was almost more, ⁓ you know, just exciting to see ⁓ as being her mentor. So yeah, it was a life-changing thing for her especially, but even for me as again, as her mentor. Yeah. ⁓ yeah. 

Jeanne: that's wonderful. made ⁓ you very proud that all of the work that you're doing is coming together. So let's transition a bit. ⁓ This has been a great conversation. I'm not trying to cut you off. I could talk to you for a long time. But now you're stepping into one of my favorite parts of the show where we play two truths and a lie. ⁓ We're gonna uncover the unexpected side of things. ⁓ You gave us three story headlines. 

Roman: Definitely. 

Jeanne: while two are true and one that's a lie or not quite true. ⁓ And I'm gonna read them out and then take my best guess. Don't tell me what they are and then you'll walk us through what actually happened. And for those playing along, we'll find out at the end ⁓ which one is the lie. So let me share my screen.

Jeanne: All right, so let's just do this again. ⁓ So You gave me three headlines. ⁓ Number one, you won first place in your very first men's physique competition during COVID-19 in November 2020. Number two, you booked a photo shoot for Weston Hotels and met Jennifer Taylor on the film set ⁓ as an extra who was flirting with you. ⁓ Low-key, I never heard that term before. That was interesting. I had to look it up and you know, what do they call? What do call urban dictionary? ⁓ Got mistaken for a supermodel on the streets of Tokyo. ⁓ knowing a little bit about Asian modeling from my nieces, ⁓ I'm thinking that one's true. ⁓ And number two, ⁓ I could see that happening and I know you do photo shoots a lot and you are an actor. So I think that one's true. ⁓ 

Jeanne: So number one, would say is false only because it's during COVID. So I didn't think anybody went out or did anything during COVID. So I would say maybe that one's a lie, but don't tell me, just start telling me these stories. What about number one, when you won your first competition? 

Roman: Yes, ⁓ so I actually ⁓ back then I happened to, so I've done two men's physique competitions. ⁓ So it's not exactly bodybuilding in that division, but it's close. It's just in a different set ⁓ or ⁓ area in that same kind of general, ⁓ you know. thing that people compete in. So I did men's physique shows. I've done two. One actually in Indiana. That was the last one I did and one in Iowa. Actually both. I did one in 2022 and one at you know, years before that. ⁓ And it was really, really neat. know, actually, ⁓ it ⁓ was a very much hardcore process, I'll be honest with you. It was very, ⁓ very intense. ⁓ I got down to about 5 % body fat on both of the shows I did. Yeah, ⁓ it was insane. It was insane. ⁓ But ⁓ a lot of work that goes into it, and a lot of people don't realize that whenever you're prepping for show, there's so many variables and so many factors just for one show, ⁓ just for one competition. So you got the mental aspect, you got the physical aspect, and then of course you got ⁓ with working out and then you got the nutrition that you obviously got to follow and you got to coordinate that the best way you can and dial that in as calorie specific as you can get. ⁓ And you got to just make sure you get the macros and you need ⁓ of course your water intake has to be a certain way and then you gotta ⁓ lower your water intake ⁓ right during the show and then have a lot of salt, a lot of carbs. ⁓ it's not, I will say for general health, the best thing to do for your body, but if you do it once in a blue moon, it's not gonna really hurt you. But there's so much work that goes into that. ⁓ So many ⁓ weight lifting sessions, so much cardio and ⁓ a lot of sodium and carb manipulation. ⁓ 

Jeanne: ⁓ Well, isn't there also a whole lot of stuff like massage oil, you have to rub all over you, ⁓ be glistening and all beautiful. ⁓ 

Roman: ⁓ Yeah, it's crazy. Yes, so you got at least it. Yeah, if you don't use massage oil or baby oil, at least, ⁓ it's ideal to do that. But if you're not gonna do that, at least you gotta get a tan, ⁓ usually like a spray tan or ⁓ just like a base tan, but usually a spray tan. ⁓ And then from there, gotta get, before you get the spray tan, of course, because it would be horrible if you got the wax after. ⁓ But you gotta get the, you gotta get, yeah. ⁓ 

Jeanne: ⁓ Gotta get waxed. 

Roman: not waxed at least shave, but if you're super hairy you usually gotta get waxed, which isn't the funnest thing, but... 

Jeanne: So I'm thinking while you're talking, this is crazy, I'm thinking while you're talking about 40 year old Virgin when that guy got waxed, my gosh, ⁓ and the ⁓ Ross show on Friends when he got the spray tan where he forgot to turn. ⁓ Roman: ⁓ man, ⁓ that's crazy. 

Jeanne: Yeah, that was a funny show, but you have to do all of that. You have to get waxed, then you have to get a spray tan, then you have to rub down. Does the spray tan ever rub off? I mean, that's got to be a mess. ⁓ 

Roman; ⁓ It can a little bit, of course you want it to dry and settle in and usually what you want to do is you want to sleep with minimal sheets, ⁓ hardly any clothing on, ⁓ just yeah you don't really want to have too much rubbing against your body basically by the end of the day. 

Jeanne: You need to like have a way to sleep hanging from the ceiling like a bat. ⁓

Roman: per ⁓ It seems like that. Yeah, it seems like that. It's crazy. It's ⁓ and I was like on my first show I was like, geez like am I gonna have this, you know paint come off I was like, you know this spray tan or I guess it's not really paint but kind of is ⁓ but I was like I don't really want this to come off my body so I was like really had anxiety about going to sleep because I was like I don't want this to wash off like or like Just make me look weird the next day and then I like ⁓ lose the show just off of that ⁓ That would be crazy. But yeah. ⁓ 

Jeanne: no. Yeah, and women would not think a man would go through all that. But yeah, this is going to put another light if I ever see a competition like that again. ⁓ 

Roman: yeah, and then you got the posing. So it's not just getting your body physically ready with, you know, being at its physical peak, lowering your body fat with the workouts and cardio, but also with ⁓ keeping your sleep good, of course, as best as you can. I will say it's harder ⁓ the more you get into a deficit because then your body's like, it's not used to being that low in calories and ⁓ it really, yeah, it's hard, but ⁓ it's fun by the end of the day because you're like, whoa, especially if you 

Jeanne: ⁓ right. 

Roman: win then you get yes and then also the pictures they at least do something they do something for you you're like okay I at least worked for this ⁓ yeah 

Jeanne: You're like, I look good. ⁓ Yeah. ⁓ that's really cool. yeah, that is very cool. So how about the photo shoot? Cause I'm interested in you going up there and doing a photo shoot for hotels and meeting Jennifer Taylor. That sounds interesting. What about that one? 

Roman: Yeah, photo shoots are fun. I love any type of photo shoot, especially, ⁓ I love fitness. ⁓ I've done some underwear, but I love fitness and lifestyle shoots are fun as well. ⁓ Jennifer Taylor, from what I, so I've met a lot of different celebrities. It's funny. I've met Mahershala Ali. I've met, he's like an Oscar winning actor. He was in that film, Moonlight, actually. 

Jeanne: Mm-hmm. Okay. 

Roman: And then I've met some other, a lot of different actors throughout the years. ⁓ Voice of Mario, Charles Martinet, ⁓ let's see, Gianni DiSenso from Cobra Kai. So that was cool from Netflix. ⁓ That was so fun. ⁓ So cool. ⁓ But yeah, I've seen a lot of different celebrities and yeah, it's it's really really neat ⁓ I've actually come across as Jennifer Taylor. I've come across ⁓ Jennifer Taylor before to you ⁓ and She's really really fun really definitely a blast to be with 

Jeanne: Okay. So she had you seen her before this particular shoot. So she kind of like started flirting with you after having seen you before or was that your first time? Oh, okay. 

Roman: She... it's funny. It was my first time ever seeing her. Yeah. First time ever seeing her. It was... it was a fun experience. It was... it was really a... not... I wouldn't... 

Jeanne: ⁓ So how was her flirting? What was the flirting? What did she say? ⁓ 

Roman: Should I tell you or ⁓ am I not supposed to tell you? 

Jeanne: You're not supposed to tell me whether it's a lie yet. You're just going along with the story. ⁓ So ⁓ in your, in your story, true or false, ⁓ what, what would she have said? ⁓ 

Roman: Okay. Yeah, in just ⁓ a general story, I would say that, okay, like, it's funny, I'll just imitate her reaction a little bit. She was like, ⁓ ooh, ⁓ hello. It was like, whoa, ⁓ ooh. ⁓ It was funny, it was really funny, actually. ⁓ 

Jeanne: hahahaha ⁓ Yeah, she said it with a smile, not with a frown, right? At least it wasn't like, okay. What cologne were you wearing? 

Roman: No, she said it with a smile for sure. I was like, okay. ⁓ I was wearing, ⁓ I think just basic deodorant actually. ⁓ Basic deodorant, ⁓ like native deodorant. 

Jeanne: ⁓ no, okay, okay. So no hint of like, okay. Well, you smell good, ⁓ that didn't play a factor. What else did she do? ⁓ 

Roman: ⁓ She did that and then ⁓ She you could just you know, we just we had some great photos together ⁓ You could just tell like the energy she was ⁓ She was vibe. She was vibe and high and I was I was enjoying it. I was enjoying it. So 

Jeanne: ⁓ Well, I mean, one of these days ⁓ when ⁓ you get even more into your acting and more ⁓ parts and things, and then some little ⁓ actress comes along, just remember this. ⁓ And be nice to them, ⁓ because it'll be their favorite unexpected story. ⁓ 

Roman: Yeah, for sure. Definitely. ⁓ yeah, you never know. 

Jeanne: Yeah, exactly. ⁓ So, okay, let's go to the mistaken for a model on the streets of Tokyo. Because I believe that one was true. it might not be, but you're not gonna tell me yet what happened. 

Roman: Yeah, so it's funny, I actually went to Tokyo and really just Japan in general ⁓ for the very first time last year. ⁓ right around March, yeah, or like early to mid-March. ⁓ So basically got there with my sister. ⁓ We went together with her and just like, ⁓ yeah, three of her friends. And it was an experience to say the least. It was very, very fun. ⁓ Definitely my favorite trip I've ever been on so far to date, ⁓ at least as of yet. ⁓ And it was nice seeing the cherry blossoms too, just in time for them to start blooming a few days before we left. So that was great. ⁓ 

Jeanne: okay. 

Roman: Yeah, we just went, we arrived. It was funny. So before we even got there, we went ⁓ from Little Rock connected from here to Houston in Texas. And then we went from Houston, believe it or not, all the way from Houston to Tokyo, which was crazy. About 13 hours. So it was, it was a long flight. Yeah. I was like, ⁓ man. I was like, ⁓ this is hard. 

Jeanne: How many hours? Oof, in a plane, 13 hours. ⁓ I didn't know they could fly that long without a fuel stop. ⁓ 

Roman: I was wondering, I was like, surely they're gonna at least stop in LA or Hawaii or something, like midway. I'm like, okay. 

Jeanne: Will you? Yeah. ⁓ Were you sleeping when the ⁓ other jet came up and re-tanked them in air? No, I don't know. ⁓ I'm kidding. But that just seems like a long time in flight. ⁓ Ugh. 

Roman: Yeah. ⁓ It was, it was, and it was more while going back, ⁓ actually, because we left at the same time we got back, because of the time zone was so different, because you're literally going 12 hours back. ⁓ It's like we're time travelers. ⁓ 

Jeanne: ⁓ yeah. So who was stuck you? mean, were you just walking down the road and then a bunch of little girls or something came running after you or what was, how did they think you were a supermodel? 

Roman: Yeah, well, it's funny. So I'm 5'9", about, maybe a little bit above that, shoes on. And so generally speaking, of course there's tall Asians, tall Japanese guys and girls, ⁓ but generally speaking, they're not usually tall. ⁓ Traditionally, they're usually ⁓ average to kind of short. ⁓ But I would say most of them were pretty much average height and then shorter to shorter, not too many tall ⁓ Asian people. So I was definitely me and my travel buddies and my sister, we were all pretty 

Jeanne: Yes, I have seen them. 

Roman: compared to the average person there. So I think that really alone can contribute to a lot of the ⁓ attention that you just automatically get. And then of course being a foreigner it's like, it's like, whoa, it's like, he's not Asian. ⁓ But ⁓ he's white and he's taller. Yeah. Yeah. So that really, think alone does... ⁓ 

Jeanne: Hahaha. ⁓ And you were physically fit and you're good looking. So then that all came into factor and all these people were like, it's a model. ⁓ 

Roman: Yeah, a lot of them were saying, just really, ⁓ it was funny. Yeah, it was funny. And I remember being in a restaurant with me and my sister and her friends. ⁓ forget the guy's name we were with, the guy friend of my sister's, he was really, really a great guy. He actually was ⁓ eating with us at the table and it was funny, me and him, ⁓ we had two Asian girls across from us at a different table in the same restaurant. I think it was like a cafe, but they were kind of looking at us and like giggling. I'm like... ⁓ ⁓ Bro, I think we got some ⁓ I think we got some flirting going on up in here Yeah, we got some flirting and attention going on up here ⁓ up in here. Yeah 

Jeanne: Got some attention here. ⁓ Well. You were funny when you said Asians are not very tall because this is, this is a personal story. we have a new sushi restaurant down the road. So ⁓ they keep opening new things cause it's pretty much a growing area in Florida and we haven't had a lot around here. So I was like, I'm going to go in the sushi restaurant and get a menu and see, ⁓ if we ever want to go eat there. So I walked in and then like six, ⁓ seven Asian guys are walking around and they're so tall. They're like six feet tall. And so when. 

Roman: wow. ⁓ Jeez, yeah. 

Jeanne: The first thing I said to my husband when I came home, was like, this looks good. I mean, it was a nice, great looking place and the menu looks good. But I'm not sure what kind of Asian restaurant it is, cause these guys are tall. ⁓ So I got your point there. All right, so now we have to know which one is the lie. 

Roman: ⁓ my gosh, yeah. ⁓ That's funny. ⁓ Should I tell you? ⁓ Okay. ⁓ believe it or not, ⁓ the one that actually here between the three, that is a lie in fact, ⁓ is the third one actually. Yeah. Yup. You, it's, ⁓ yeah, I swore at first I was gonna be, when I was going there, was like, surely. 

Jeanne: Yeah, we're ready for that. ⁓ okay, I will. 

Roman: Surely I'll be mistaken for a supermodel, but because you hear stories about that to you But I was like, no, I mean maybe got some flirting and some of the interests there But yeah, I've never actually got to my knowledge mistaken for a supermodel there 

Jeanne: Yeah. ⁓ Yeah, I was agreeing right along with that because my nieces, ⁓ my brothers in the Foreign Service, they lived in ⁓ North Korea. What am I saying? South Korea. in a mall, they ⁓ were asked to be models while they were living there ⁓ because they had catalogued a lot of them. 

Roman: Hahahaha! ⁓ 

Jeanne: They do a lot of clothing there and then they have a lot of catalogs. So they as children, they got to be models for children's clothes over there. So that's the one I thought that's for sure gonna be the tree one, but I got it wrong. Hey Roman, this has been fantastic. I mean, you are such a warm person and your heart comes through in your stories and you're just very dynamic person and driven as an entrepreneur. So I really appreciate you coming on. 

Roman: No way. Yeah, you would think. 

Jeanne: And I also want to tell people that have been listening how to get in touch with you. So I have this ⁓ sheet here of this ship's log that shows you how to get in touch with Roman. A great quote that you had is stay humble and stay hungry. I like that. ⁓ Anything you want to say about people get in touch with you before we wrap it up? 

Roman: Yeah, definitely. So if you're out there, you know, watching this, listening to this or both, ⁓ and you just happen to want to take your fitness to the next level, just be sure to head over to my website, fill out that coaching application at RomanFisherOfficial.com. ⁓ And perhaps if you want to just dive deeper into my mindset, my overall approach and just lead a more successful life, ⁓ you can definitely grab a copy of my book, Rules to Rule Successfully on Amazon. The link is in the description. ⁓ 

Jeanne: Hey, ⁓ yeah, and all of these links will be in the transcript too. So ⁓ if you don't catch them here, you'll be able to catch them in the transcript. ⁓ So Roman, thank you so much. I hope that you'll honor us again and come back at some point. This has been a ⁓ just a wonderful conversation and I've enjoyed having you on here. So best of luck for everything. Is there a new part that you're getting ready to audition? Well, maybe you can't tell us that. Are you excited for anything new? 

Roman: Thank you. There is one thing that should be coming up soon, but I can't say anything, at least not yet. At least not yet. 

Jeanne: Yeah, I kind of understand people get gag order on these things because there's a lot of people competing. So, uh, well, best of luck for that. hope it's good. Maybe it's another Viking movie. I'm just, I'm just really into those right now. I don't know why, but that I love the last kingdom. watch it. 

Roman: yeah, that'd be awesome. yeah, that or ⁓ the next Jon Snow for Game of Thrones. ⁓ I've been told I look like him to you, it's kind of funny. 

Jeanne: ⁓ yeah Well, I'm waiting, you know, ⁓ I'm like into historical, you know, fiction. It could be romance. It doesn't have to be romance, ⁓ you know, just historical. ⁓ I, you know, I could see you on the next revival of Pole Dark even. So come on. This is ⁓ anybody watching that's a agent. ⁓ 

Roman: I'll have to check that out, I've never seen that. All these shows I've not heard of, that's crazy. They sound pretty cool though. 

Jeanne: Paul Dark. Yeah, that's an old PBS one, I don't know. ⁓ I just watch a lot of historical stuff. ⁓ And actually ⁓ it might not even, it's not real. It's fiction around it, but there are some factors in these shows that are real. Cause I then go look at history and find out, ⁓ really? ⁓ You know, yeah. Yeah. You'll love those too. ⁓ Yeah. That's great. 

Roman: That's so cool. I love history, so if it's anything historical, I'm all about it, yeah. 

Jeanne: Well, thank you so much and you just have a wonderful day. So nice to have you on. Thank you. And for those listening, please tune in next time for another guest ⁓ with unexpected stories. Thank you so much. 

Roman: Thank you.